"The Bear Hill Golf Club was established in 1900, with the clubhouse built on Bear Hill, near the Reading line. Work on the clubhouse started in January 1901. It was designed by architects Hartwell, Richardson & Driver, who was an 'enthusiastic' club member, and built by Feindel & Brockbank. The club held a 'formal informal' dedication of the clubhouse in mid-April 1901, complete with a scratch tournament and a chafing dish supper. Club membership was limited to 100. The 1901 clubhouse on Hopkins Street was built with ample room for its 100 members and friends. The building measured 15' wide with an 8' ell, and 46' long, with a piazza (porch) that measured 10'6" wide and ran the entire length of the building. The 'open rustic' 7' x 4' deep fireplace was a unique feature of the building, as was the eyebrow window on the roof. By 1913, the club was said to be among the most active in town, with 125 members and a long waiting list. The men, it was noted, had the 2132-yard golf course to themselves, but many of the ladies took part in the tennis matches on the club's two courts. Everyone enjoyed 'the luncheon and regular Saturday evening supper at which the attendance was seldom less than 100.' To better accommodate its members, the club voted to move the club and purchase an additional lot of land, at the present site, in 1913." Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2011 Photo courtesy of Frederik D. Bodin, Bodin Historic Photo.
